Steven Cicchi and Joseph Heinert have been arrested on accusations that they were in a very improper place at a very inappropriate time on exactly the wrong kind of vehicles.
Cicchi, 32, and Heinert, 31, are accused of taking motorcycles onto the closed route of the Colorado Classic bicycle race just before 5 p.m. on Saturday. They allegedly bypassed a traffic barricade, evaded police and ignored an officer's commands, according to the Denver District Attorney's Office.
Two other unidentified motorbike riders also invaded the race, according to the DA's office. The four motorcyclists entered the course together from a sidewalk near Speer Boulevard and Wewatta Street in Lower Downtown, according to a police officer's affidavit. About 120 cyclists were on the lengthy closed-road course at the time, but it's unclear how close the racers were.
Heinert reportedly was riding a black 2002 Kawaski motorcycle, while the other vehicles weren't described in court documents. Officers in police vehicles attempted to blockade the road, their vehicles' emergency lights blazing near the nearby Speer bridge, but the motorcyclists "intentionally disregarded" them, according to an officer's affidavit.
The motorcyclists allegedly continued northbound on the closed course, which was configured to continue up into the mountains near Golden.
Cicchi is accused of striking and injuring an officer with his motorcycle at Speer and Zuni, not long after entering the course. He lost control of the motorcycle, crashed and was arrested shortly afterward, according to the DA's office.
One eyewitness reportedly told 9News that an officer "threw his body into one of the motorcyclists," causing it to crash. Other accounts differed.
Heinert was arrested on the 3100 block of North Federal Boulevard, about a half-mile away, according to the DA's office.
Both men are being held on $50,000 bond. Both face felony charges of violating bail bond conditions and eluding police officers and a misdemeanor count of assaulting a peace officer. They also are accused of failing to report or return to the scene of a collision and for lacking proper insurance.
Cicchi was previously arrested in May on suspicion that he had fled a marked police car at high speed through heavy traffic in Denver.
We've reached out to Colorado Classic for further information about the incident. We've also asked Denver Police Department about the condition of the injured officer.
